The Spirit of Fire
by Kazad
Summary: The Five Spirit's target's was supposed to be Shido but when The Flame Spirit intervened and took them down one by one, the past came back to Kotori and Shido. For some reason The Flame Spirit, Yamato tried avoiding being recognized by Yoshino as possible, he tried avoiding her as possible. Shido wanted to know what he mistake he did 5 years ago. (PAUSED)
1. More than one Enemy

I was about to title "The Fire Spirit" but it doesn't sound right so I titled it to the name I'm comfortable...sort of. I will really try to focus the story on Shido about mostly. This the idea I'm most comfortable with.

I'm currently busy updating two of my Date A Live stories. I can't choose which one to update first, "The Spirit of Fire" or "Switching Day". Hhhmm, I'll update both so updating might take quite a while.

* * *

A bright sunny morning, every students run faster than usual since the class in Raizen high is about to start. Shido and Tohka run until their hearts and feet are about to give up. Shido looked backed at Tohka and told her to hurry up but he can't understand her reply with that toasted bread clipped in her mouth.

"Come on Tohka, we'll be late"

"Ilmnhkghowan"

"What?"

The hungry girl grabbed the toast in her mouth and begun biting it until none of it is left. She held her breath for a few seconds and waited to speak to the right moment. With all that running, anyone would have a hard time releasing air.

"I said, I know that's why we're running"

"Moouuu, Why did I slept late last night?"

Luckily they reached the gate in time and able to enter the class before the class even started. Both of them are panting and sweating from running in this bright sunny day. A silhouette tracked them both to Raizen High and throughout the hours that shadow followed and observed Shido all day. At the end of the day when everyone else left school, the silhouette came out of its hiding and talked to the crow beside her.

"Itsuka Shido isn't worth it so does the Spirit with him"

"Then who do you like to use your powers"

"To kill Itsuka Shido, I must avoid the obstacle"

"Rataoskr?"

"Yes exactly"

"An organization that handle Spirits

The jet black feathered crow flapped its wings as its feathers fall of while he cawed in a horrible, frightening manner. The female Spirit beside her giggled while she continued to hide in her decorative black cloak that covered her eye. The crow switched position from her shoulder to the railings in the rooftop.

"As long as she doesn't shows up or that man"

"The real Spirit of the Fire Executioner , I couldn't believe such a scary man could have a child"

"Master said Itsuka Shido seals Spirit's powers and he has to be destroyed"

The creepy, red eyed black bird flapped its wings and its feather continued to fall gently the ground. The girl named Elise, used her cloak to turn herself invisible so she can spy at Shido and eliminate him before Rataoskr and The real Spirit of the Fire interferes. Shido just finished his shopping with the help of Tohka but after quite a while, Tohka begun to notice a presence that had been following them.

"Shido, there's someone following us"

"But no one is here, Are you s-"

Before Shido could continue his words a loud bang of someone hitting the trash can alerted the two. The noise came from behind them which is right next to their house. Shido and Tohka heard an "ouch" and someone complaining from an invisible spot. Elise figured out that she has been noticed and decided to take off her invisibility. Her outstanding elegant dress means she's a Spirit and the fact that she can turn invisible.

"Stupid trash can now my beautiful feet are damaged"

"Excuse me, but who are you and why are you following us"

"I am the Spirit Elise and I'm not definitely following you"

"But you followed me right to my house"

"Silence! Are you calling me a liar!"

With all her loud rambling and shouting, it can be heard all the way to his house. The young Spirit Yoshino heard the commotion and decided to check it out to only find an odd girl about Shido's age pointing and yelling at him. Judging from her yawning and eye rubbing, Yoshino must have been disturbed from her nap.

"Shido-san, What's going on and who is she?"

"Hey you over there, What's your name?"

"Y-Yoshino, Why do you ask?"

The scary Spirit switched her sights towards to the newly awakened Spirit and begun to shout at her as well while asking her name. Her scary voice terrified the young Spirit who hesistated to answer at first. Elise thought that her blue sapphire eyes reminded her of someone she knew and when she realized who she is, Elise begun to shake and back away for some reason.

"Did you say Y-Yoshino? I-impossible, that means you're that man's-"

"Huh?"

"I'm not here for anything so there's no need to check it out, I'll be on my way"

Her whole body and tone of voice shook more violently like a soda can about to burst. Elise used her cloak to teleport herself away from the scene and in an instant she disappeared right from their eyes. All of them are dumbfounded why she got all scared when she saw Yoshino. In dinner, Shido told Kotori all about what happened a few hours ago. Her younger sister showed her usual straight expression.

"Heh, So a Spirit is stalking you and she got scared when Yoshino showed up"

"I-it's not like I want to scare her on purpose"

"Yoshino, how come like she knows you, Have you met?"

"No Shido-san, I don't even recognize her"

[It sounded like she's referring Yoshino to someone, a relative perhaps]

"Relative? Do Spirits even have relatives or parents?"

Now that she think about it, Kotori never thought of Spirit having a family or even reproducing like humans. There's a small possibility though but not even Kotori could think is this is even possible. In an abandoned building somewhere in the city, Elise throwed all the things she can find in frustration on why all the Spirits that is with Shido, why her. The crow dodge all the flying objects that she randomly throw.

"Why? Of all the Spirits he sealed, why her"

"Who?"

"The child…of that man"

Her tone sounded like she's holding all her anger and when the crow asked, Elise took of the cloak and her Astral dress resembled a light, elegant dress that matches her brown hair with curly tips. The crow hid behind the pillar fearing the girl's fury.

"Raven, we have a change of plans"

"Heh?"

"We will to get Yoshino out of the way, Master wouldn't like it when we tell him about this"

"Getting rid of her is impossible but as long as she is unable to use her ability to use her fire"

"It's true, I already have an idea but first we have to report this"

**THE NEXT DAY**

A night has passed after that weird even has occurred and Shido is not sure is he's going to laugh or be confused by this. It's lunchtime and Shido wasn't able to eat one when Kurumi grabbed his arm and dragged him all the way to the rooftop without saying anything. When they got there, Kurumi made sure no one is listening to them.

"Why did you dragged me all of the sudden Kurumi?"

"Shido-san, have you encountered a loud mouthed and noisy Spirit?"

"Well, there was this yelling Spirit who followed me yesterday"

"Does she happened to have a crow with her?"

"Y-yes, I thought it was weird"

After hearing Shido's answer, the cruel Spirit walked towards Shido and held his shoulder. Fear and nervousness rushed to his fast beating heart. Kurumi stared at him with serious eyes while she frowned a bit.

"Shido-san you're in danger, someone is targeting you"

"Heh!? Who?"

"Don't worry he isn't that strong since he's only a human with Five Spirits as his servant"

"Five Spirits!?"

"The only way they can kill you is to remove the obstacle and that is the most dangerous Spirit with you"

"Who?"

"You'll find out sooner or later, right now that guy said not to do interfere"

Kurumi waved her hand as she went her way to the door to go back to class. Shido was shocked from what he heard about the attempt to kill him by a man and a few Spirits. Along the way, Kurumi suggested that don't make the first move or it will be dangerous and all they have to do is to confirm their enemy first and plan a counter attack. Before she sat into her chair, she also said that Shido must stay in the same phase before the fire would go wild and the best way to defeat them is to surprise them. As the class ended, Shido took Tohka to a neaby restaurant because she said she's really hungry. While the two of them are busy eating, Elise continued to followed them so she can strike them at the right moment.

"Kukukuku, Itsuka Shido has no idea that I'm following him"

"Now you sounded like a stalker"

"Now that they're out of the way, I have to get the obstacle out of the way"

Elise teleported again and this time, she re appeared in front of Shido's house. Just in time, Yoshino spotted the weird lady from yesterday and it looks like Elise is planning something evil. Defeating her would be difficult since she has powers she never knew but as long as Yoshino can't use her powers, everything would go according to plan.

"Kukukuku, I have found you Yoshino"

"Heh?"

The young Spirit detected an evil presence from the lady in an elegant astral dress. As Elise walked closer, Yoshino walked backwards until she was cornered into a wall. The weird lady brought at a white sword, chanted some weird incantations under her breathe and slashed it at the young Spirit. There were no wounds or blood but Yoshino fell down unconscious.

"Now that were done here, I think we shall go"

"Hey you!"

When Shido and Tohka arrived back to his house, both of them found the young Spirit lying unconscious and the shocked culprit standing right in front of them. Before the two of them can react, Elise teleported away as a means of escape to prevent a turnout of events. Shido felt Yoshino's pulse and it turns out she's only unconscious but to make sure they brought her to Fraxinus so Kotori and the others can check her.

"How is it Kotori?"

"Yoshino is fine but it still strange that as if nothing happened"

"You're saying that something happened and we don't know yet"

"A Spirit attacked her after all"

Shido thought if they are targeting him then why would they involve Yoshino who has nothing to do with this or at least they think. They don't know that the enemy is trying to get Shido's ally out of the way one by one, from the most to the least threat. Meanwhile, Elise hurriedly reported back to her master which took the appearance of a man in his mid 30's with a swept black hair.

"How did it go Elise? Did you succeed?"

"Yes Master, I was almost caught when they arrived unexpectedly"

"The next target is Yatogami Tohka, Beat her up until she can no longer move"

The devious man smiled he clenched his fist and opened it again. Elise and the crow agreed on their next mission with a nod before leaving the room. The black crow flew to the girl's arms with a terrible caw that brings death to the corpses of those who are unfortunate. The other four are concealed in a cloak and standing on a wall. In a hidden alley, one of Kurumi's clones reported back to her and whispered the information they gathered.

"Ara are, It looks like they're targeting Tohka-san next"

"Hihihi"

"What shall we do next"

"Tell the other 'Us' to gather more information about them and their next plan"

"How interesting"

The clones that had been hiding in the shadows behind her all giggled and the shadows showed different variations of her clone's grins. When Kurumi looked back at her clones, all of immediately ceased their laughing and went back into the shadows. The rest of Fraxinus continued to check on Yoshino's condition to find if there is anything weird but unfortunately, nothing suspicious was found. After a scan, Kotori and Reine found something odd.

"Reine…..isn't that"

"I believe it's a flow of Spirit energy in the form of heat energy"

"Fire? Impossible…..that means-"

"We are not currently sure about this but there is a possibility"

The lollipop in her mouth was dropped into shocked when the monitor of Yoshino's Spirit energy which displayed different kind of energy since it emitted different energy than she usually do. The energy is very faint, about a percent strong.


	2. First Piece of the Puzzle

On their way home from school from another yet seemingly endless day of classes, Tohka crouched her back and begun walking lifelessly which Shido find a bit adorable. First, they had to get some extra ingredients for tonight's dinner to prepare for Tohka's huge appetite.

"Shido, Shido, What are you going to cook tonight?"

"It's one of your favorites so it's a secret"

"Hhmmm, I have so many food I always liked to eat"

Three people in mysterious clothing silently followed the two as they take a sharp turn on a street with no people around. The two girls are not really good at hiding their presence as the two already begun to be bothered by the uneasiness of their stalking. When their targets stopped, the two girls came out of obvious hiding and blandly introduce there selves with no shame.

"We have trapped you!"

"And we will destroy you"

"Uhm…Who are you people"

Two girls in a funny looking astral dress that looks like they're circus acrobats from a different culture pointed their fingers at Tohka and Shido who has no idea what's going on. The only thing that's quite eye catching is their asymmetrical clothes and bad taste in fashion. The two simultaneously introduced their names and intentions.

"I'm Rosebud and we have only one purpose"

"I'm Kuroneko and we came to destroy the so called Yatogami Tohka"

"Were you the one that attacked Yoshino?"

"No, no, no, That was Elise"

"It's logic to remove the most possible threat to our plans"

Before Rosebud and Kuroneko could continue, Tohka who transformed in her Astral Dress didn't take much more of their talking and decided to attack first since they're targeting her after all. The duo jumped in mid air and landed with a powerful nerve strikes that were able to pierce through Tohka's astral dress.

"Our main power is to deliver blows to the weak points"

"And as a bonus, it amplifies stronger with each successful hit"

"Then I have to make you miss"

Tohka charged with Sandalphon with all her might but the two easily dodged each attacks and as they jumped, they always able to land powerful blows that severely damages Tohka's body. Shido realized that Tohka is at a huge disadvantage when it comes to speed and mobility but what he can do, Shido is no match when it comes to Spirit battles.

"This is the end Princess!"

"But don't worry, you're not going to die…..yet"

The fight ended shortly than expected with Tohka severely hurt from the direct body blows that she received and when Shido tried to interfere, he ended up being kicked in a concrete wall a few feet away. The two retreated back to Fraxinus with Tohka who won't be able to get any better soon because of the few broken bones. Kotori went to check up on Shido to tell him that there's one thing.

"Tohka being severely injured is not the only problem we will have"

"What are you talking about?"

"If I remember correctly, the two recent attacks were done by Spirits, right"

"That weird woman and the two who attacked Tohka, They're connected?"

"It looks like it but why did they attack them"

"That's what we're trying to find out"

A puzzled became more jumbled the more Shido thinks about it, He thought why would other Spirits attack other Spirits such as Tohka and Yoshino, perhaps someone is behind this and pulling the strings. Worried at the two Spirits, Shido came by to visit them and see on how they're doing.

"Hey Tohka, How are you feeling?"

"I'm going to sure that they're not going to get away with this!"

"You should focus on resting first and avoid straining"

To ease Tohka's pain, Shido gave Tohka a light pat on the head in which the Spirit took to a liking. The two looked at where Yoshino's resting and heard a groan of someone waking up, Shido and Tohka immediately approached the Spirit and waited for her to full wake up and when she did, both of them are really glad.

"Shido, Shido, Yoshino woke up"

"I'm right here"

"….."  
Yoshino stared blankly at the two for a few seconds before looking at her surroundings with strangeness in her eyes. The Spirit felt even more strange when two people are staring at her with such gladness, Yoshino hesitated to speak for a moment as she wondered even more.

"Yoshino, How are you feeling?"

"Who are you?"

"Heh?"

"I never seen you people before"

"You're saying….you don't know us"

The young commander got in time were she spotted Shido and Tohka looking very shocked at Yoshino who recently woke up. Kotori shouted with a roaring voice to get the attention of the two who ignored her when she entered.

"What's going on here!"

"Kotori…It's Yoshino"

"What about it?"

"Well…."

"Uhm, Do I know any of you?"

"Huh!? What's going on here? What do you mean you don't know us"

"Kotori calm down, Yoshino has amnesia"

Kotori almost dropped her chupa chups when she heard those words from Yoshino so she angrily stomped the floor as she walked closer towards the Spirit. The young commander unintentionally shook Yoshino out of confusion of the current situation. When Shido and Tohka stopped Kotori from violently shaking the Spirit, Yoshino became terrified of the commander.

"Of all the times we found something important and Yoshino has amnesia!"

"What do you mean you found something important?"

"There were weird flow of Spirit energy inside Yoshino, we only recently detected it"

"Maybe this has something to do with that weird woman that attacked Yoshino"

"Tohka's right Kotori we don't what really happened yet"

"Fine!"

The commander bursting in anger finally settled down and re arranges the chupa chups that's out of place. She regained her calm composure and calmly talked at the Lost Spirit who is terrified at her.

"Yoshino, Is there anything you remember?"

"No, not really"

"Shido, you will watch over Yoshino until we figured out how to return her memory"

"What about when I go to school?"

"Then Ratatoskr will watch over her, use your common sense for once"

Back into the Itsuka Residence, Shido thought that the best way to remind someone is through the recorded memories such as pictures so he showed Yoshino some of the fun time they had when all of them are having good times. There were times that all the four of them would go to a theme park together and they had to persuade Kotori into coming with them.

"Is that really me?"

"Yeah"

"Uhm…..Shido-san right, What kind of person am I before"

"Well, you're a sweet, kind and innocent person who refused to hurt anyone"

"I see"

The Young Spirit felt that something is missing in her memory, a long time memory to be exact so stood up from the sofa and left without saying anything else. As she reached the outside, Yoshino leaned against a wall and held her head and asked herself on what's the missing piece of the puzzle.

"I felt like something's missing, more like someone's missing"

Curious to say, Yoshino never remembered why she always wore a puppet and why she felt like it's a very valuable thing to her. The Spirit closed her eyes for a while and amidst in the darkness, she saw a vision of a man is bright coat with blazing flames cladding him. Yoshino saw the surroundings on fire and when she looked at the man, he cried as he hugged her before uttering a few shaking words.

"I's sorry, I'm really sorry, It's all my fault"

The last things Yoshino saw is the man turning his back towards her and then everything else were devoured by the raging fire. The Spirit woke up in tears but wiped it afterwards, as she head towards the so called apartment, more questions were raised on who is he and why is he the first thing she remembered. Exhausted from all the thinking, Yoshino took off Yoshino which she never did before and placed it on the bed before going out for a while. The young Spirit was lost in thought that she bumped into a beautiful lady.

"Ah, I'm so sorry"

"Ara, It's me who wasn't watching my way…..Aren't you Shido-san's little friend"

"Do you know Shido-san? I can't remember anything else"

"So you lost your memory, They must have been too cautious to kill you"

"Did you say something?"

"It's nothing, Tell Shido-san I said Hi"

"S-sure"

It was too deep to remember but Yoshino have heard about Kurumi through Kotori when Shido was attacked by her some time ago. The cruel Spirit thought that it's unusual for 'them' to let a Spirit like her live and just only cut off her memories. There was slight scorch marks on Kurumi's hand when she helped Yoshino stand up. She must have realized Yoshino's connection between the Spirit of Fire that turned his surroundings into hell five years ago. Giggling of her clones echoed in the shadows and being her clones, they must have realized it as well.

"So that Spirit is-"

"All of 'us' knows that"

"If something were to happen to her….."

"the real Ifreet would show up and turn everything into a living hell once again"

Meanwhile inside Shido's house, Tohka felt a lot better and by better I mean hungrier. Tohka must have thought that food will bring back her strength and heal her injuries quickly. While the gluttonous Spirit is busy eating, Kotori and Shido has to talk about something regarding the situation.

"Nee Kotori, What is it you want to talk about?"

"Shido, Do you remember anything about the Spirit that started the fire five years ago?"

"Not much really, All I remember is fire everywhere and… a man in a white coat…..holding a Halberd"

"I can barely remember it myself but I think he has something to do about me turning into a Spirit, If I remember correctly, he's holding Camael"

"Heh? You're saying he's the real Ifreet Ratatoskr always talking about"

"Partly sure, We can't jump to conclusions yet"

While the two were giving each other a serious look, Yoshino entered the house and it looks like she's not feeling so well herself. Shido noticed that something's wrong when he found the Spirit with blank eyes and swaying movement. Before he could react, the Spirit collapsed on the ground all of a sudden and the two of them rushed to the Spirit. When Kotori was about to feel the Spirit's temperature, her hand felt a burning feeling.

"She's burning hot, Yoshino has a literally burning fever"

"What should I do?"

"With this unusual fever for a Spirit we'll have to bring her to Fraxinus you idiot"

"It would be nice if you stop insulting me once in a while"

Shido and Kotori hurriedly brought the feverish Spirit to Fraxinus' ship to check up on her condition. In this special case, this is the first time to see a Spirit having common human illness except that Yoshino is having an unusually high fever. While Kotori and Reine will check this condition, Shido stayed beside the feverish and panting Spirit.

"What's going on?"

Even though Yoshino has a running fever that is more than 40 degrees Celsius, she tried to utter a few words even in her weak condition.

"Shido-san….I saw…a memory"

"What memory?"

"Everything…is burning…because…..of him"

"Who's him and what's burning"

"A Spirit…..burned everything…. Five years ago"

"Five years ago? That's the same time the fire started"

The Spirit then lost all the energy she has left and passed out afterwards. After analyzing some small data, Kotori went to check on Yoshino's condition when he saw Shido in a deep shocked expression. The young commander tried to call him out, he didn't answer so she slapped him until he fell to the ground.

"K-Kotori? Why did you do that for?"

"You were spacing out"

"I have something to tell you"

"This better be important"

"Yoshino might knew something about the fire five years ago"

"What?! How is that even possible"

"She said about a Spirit that burned everything five years ago and it was 'him'"

Now that Shido thought about it, there was this weird dream where a man stood in the middle of the burning hell. It was faint but Shido heard a cry and that man was carrying a little girl then everything else is blurred afterwards. Kotori thought for a few seconds about an existence of a male Spirit.

"A male Spirit? All the Spirits are girls until now"

"We're talking about Spirits here, everything's possible"

"You better go home, you still have school tomorrow"

"Yeah, Tohka might be worried or hungry"

When Shido got back home, Tohka is in the kitchen waiting for the boy to get back quickly. Shido received a sad soulful eyes from Tohka who is obviously is worried and hungry at the same time. She might have been waiting for Shido to cook.

"You should take it easy on the food or you might get a stomach ache"

"Hhmmm, You disappeared all of a sudden and now I'm hungry"

"Well, You have to wait till dinner"

"If you say so"

Shido patted Tohka's head before he went to straight to his room and think about things even for a while. He told himself there's no way that Yoshino would be involve in the fire five years ago since it happened a long time ago and the biggest things is that who is the Spirit Yoshino is referring. Meanwhile, somewhere in an isolated location, Kurumi joyfully skipped as she was about to visit an old friend.

"If it isn't the most brutal Spirit, Tokisaki Kurumi"

"Ara, Ara, Don't be harsh, I'm not the only brutal one around here"

"It's odd that you have a light burn on your hand, Did you burn yourself"

"I couldn't tell you, let's just say it was accidentally done"

A man in a bright coat surrounded by flames turned towards the cruel Spirit and examined her slightly burned hand further. Kurumi blushed a bit on how Executioner hold her hand even though he's just examining after Kurumi refused to tell him how she got such wounds. After a while he realized that the burn mark was done after being touched by someone and he couldn't believe his eyes that it may be another Spirit.

"Tell me, Did a Spirit did this to you that's why you don't want to tell me"

"It's a secret, right now all you have to do is stay low because you won't like the current situation"

"I have no intention in interfering anyway"

"Executioner tell me the truth, Are you the one that turned Ituska Kotori into a Spirit or was it Phantom"

"I gave in to my destructive impulses and burned everything as a result, It's not my fault that she took a piece of a Spehira crystal Phantom gave me"

"I'll be going then, I'll tell you if something interesting happens"

The cruel Spirit bid farewell to the destructive Spirit who couldn't care less about anyone or anything regarding humans. He was intrigued when Kurumi told him about a boy named Itsuka Shido that can seal Spirit's powers and currently sealed three of them which is Tohka, Yoshino and Kotori. Kurumi met Phantom a few times and according to her, Executioner can take on any Spirit or AST member single handedly.


	3. Their Connection

I posted this earlier because when Date A Live Season II came out and it gave motivation, I saw a picture on FB where all of them are eating breakfast. : )

* * *

The weird girl from before who slashed Yoshino and caused her amnesia freely walked the streets without even being bothered at all. The creepy crow that's always with her followed her through the skies of the city. With the help of Kurumi's information gathering, Executioner followed the guilty culprit until he saw her rendezvous with the other two Spirits who attacked Tohka. Just as Kurumi described, the attackers don't really look that strong and since Tohka has her powers sealed, she has no match to Spirits with fully released powers.

"How was your job?"

"It was easier than expected"

"Yeah, especially for a Spirit with sealed powers"

"Now that we've taken down two of the Spirits, it will be easier to destroy Itsuka Shido"

A man with a white folded sleeve appeared from behind from his hiding place, after he heard enough of them Executioner was engulfed in flames as he activated his Astral dress and summoned a red and gold sword with a cross like hilt from thin air.

"Burn everything, Michael!"

"Damn! It's Executioner"

"I won't forgive each single one of you, I'll drag you to the depths of the underworld"

"Oh no, run!"

Before the three could flee for their lives from the raging Spirit of Fire, an entire block was completely engulfed in a fire like hell and everything was burned down to ruins. In a single attack, three Spirits were easily eliminated into their existence and not even their physical bodies were left. The huge amount of Spirit waves were easily detected by Ratatoskr and was immediately spotted by them.

"Commander, Spirit waves were detected"

"Spirit identification, codename: Executioner"

"Records state that he's a male Spirit with tremendous power"

"Could that Spirit be the one Yoshino was talking about"

"Shall Shido deal in negotiating with the Spirit"

"No, Executioner won't even bother to talk to anyone, he burn everything he sees"

At that time, Shido was a street away to where huge black smokes rose into the sky as people flee for their lives. He was even more shocked when fiery blasts were fired into the sky and what more is the AST struggling to get close. Instead of going home from school, Shido foolishly dragged his feet to the battle ground. When he got there, none of the AST remained perhaps they were burned to dust like the others or they just retreated upon realizing the danger of the Spirit.

"What's…going on? A Spirit?"

"Shido get out there!"

"Kotori? Why?"

"Unlike any other Spirits, he won't waste his time talking to any human"

"But I have to try or more people will get hurt if he doesn't stop"

Ignoring the warnings of the young commander, Shido gathered his courage and walked closer to the Spirit whose busy staring at the smoking and flickering sky. When a certain boy approached him, Executioner recognized the blue haired high school student as the sealer Itsuka Shido and his presence angered the Spirit further so he didn't hesitate raining fire from the sky at him.

"Wha! What are you doing, I'm not here to fight you"

"I know, You're weaker than I expected…Itsuka Shido"

"H-How did you know my name?"

"Tokisaki Kurumi told me everything about you and the organization you're affiliated with"

"Then you must know I'm not here to do any harm"

"That's make it easier for me to kill y-"

Before he could finish his last sentence, two Spirit arrived in the scene, one is Tohka whose in her Astral dress and Yoshino who is with Tohka after they saw what happened a few minutes ago. Tohka followed Shido who ran towards a battle field and Yoshino was somehow dragged by the hell fire she saw. Shido found something odd when Executioner looked quite schock as his sword begun to tremble.

"Im…possible"

"Hey you! I won't let you hurt Shido…..ow"

"Shido-san….I'm sorry"

"Is it really you? H-how?"

"Huh?"

The three was confused on what he could be talking about but before they could asked him a question, Executioner pierced the ground with his sword and fire engulfed him once again as he disappeared from the scene. Luckily, Shido only managed to get minor burns and no other serious injuries. Tohka stick to Shido after being almost burned to dust by a Spirit. From the Spirits he encountered, never before seen is a Spirit that hated him and know him the moment they meet. Kotori told Tohka that she needs to talk to Shido privately for a while which Tohka respected.

"It looks like we found a piece to the answer, Shido"

"It looks like it, he said he knew me and Ratatoskr through Kurumi"

"So he must knew you sealed the power of three Spirits"

"But the question is, Why does it look like he hated me from the beginning"

"He could be the Spirit from five years ago or he could be just another Spirit"

"There's this other thing, When Tohka and Yoshino arrived, it's like he got afraid and run away"

"It might be either Tohka or Yoshino he's afraid of, I'll have to get more information"

Kotori gave Shido a light chop on the head before exiting the room and telling him she needs to get more information. Inside an abandoned building, several scorch marks and burned objects were seen everywhere when Kurumi arrived to check on him. By her judgment he must have met someone unexpected.

"Ara, ara, I assume something happened"

"How? She was there…..when Itsuka Shido was in danger"

"What are you planning to do?"

"Nothing yet, I want to know what really happened after that fire"

"If you want to know, you'd better ask the person highly involve in it"

"Itsuka Shido, right?"

The crow returned after the three Spirits were defeated and killed after Executioner to the master of an organization that also rivaled Ratatoskr along with two remaining Spirits. He was shocked after he heard the news of that Spirit killing three of his Spirits in one blow. This time he sent out of the other Spirit to capture the Spirit Hermit. Perhaps, he has other plans in his mind.

"What exactly are you planning, caw!"

"I want to try on something"

"With Executioner revealing himself, I think it would be impossible"

The crow flew away as it flaps it wings while it caw with a terrible shrilling voice. As the day passed, numerous reports of fire alerted Ratatoskr that this is clearly the work of the Spirit Executioner. After years of disappearance, the Spirit finally shown himself and has other things in mind. When Shido got to school he decided to confront Kurumi and ask her why she told a raging Spirit all about him.

"Why did you tell a raging Spirit all about me, He wanted to kill me"

"Ara, you'll know soon enough Shido-san when you find out about the truth"

"The truth about what"

"The truth about the fire from five years ago, Not just one Spirit is connected to it you know"

The wind in the atmosphere felt different the usual, it's like the air is gathering in one place and that's when the spacequake alarm rang out. All of the other people went to the shelter but not Kurumi, she knew who caused the spacequake and it looks like it will be a show. The spacequake that just happened is unlike any other, it was bigger and stronger than the others. Fraxinus took a closer look on who might be the Spirit this time.

"That's one powerful spacequake, a little more and it will be strong enough destroy half of the city"

"Spirit Identification, Executioner"

"What?! Him again, Why did he show up?"

"AST are engaging the Spirit"

A group of AST arrived at the scene with their heavily equipped weapons, among the AST is Origami, who bare a grudge against the Spirit that started the fire. Origami went to attack first and didn't wait for the others. The Spirit breathed in the quiet air around him but he was annoyed when the AST begun firing their guns. He easily blocked their barrage of bullets with his invisible shield and once again, he summoned he's angel Michael. Fire begun to form in one place and it raged even more as a sword begun to form while he hold his position and waited for it to manifest in his hand.

"That's…an Angel"

"All member open fire, I repeat open fire!"

"How annoying, I'm only here to meet someone then you showed up"

After all of their bullets were wasted and turned into food by the raging fire, Origami dropped her gun and foolishly charged with her laser sword which Executioner took as a challenge. Origami begun cursing upon the Spirit who clearly has no interest on the angry human.

"This reminds me of the fire I started five years ago"

"That was you! Then you're the one that killed my parents!"

"That was not me who killed your parents, you'll realized soon enough"

"I'll kill if it's the last thing I'll do"

With a single move of his hand, the fire begun to move a will and it could have burned Origami if he hadn't dodge. What annoyed her most is the Spirit's cool demeanor and dispassionate expression. After getting bored with the AST, Executioner snapped his gloved hand and created a wall of fire around him. To her disappointment, the Spirit in front of Origami vanished right in front of her.

"All units retreat to base"

"He…got away"

Hours after the battle with the AST occurred, everything else went back to normal, people walking in the streets and minding their own business. A girl in a bandit like Astral Dress tracked down the Spirit Hermit who is currently with Tohka in the streets. To remove obstacles, the bandit threw a small round object at the ground and it exploded as it scared away all the people.

"What's…going on?"

"A terrorist?"

The Spirit in a weird clothing appeared right in front of them and threatened to kill the two if they resist. Tohka didn't listen to her demands and instead, she manifested her Astral Dress and summoned her Sandalphon.

"Hmph, resisting is futile"

"Resist or not, it's going to end the same with you losing"

Unfortunately for Tohka, her wounds aren't fully healed for her to fight so her injuries made it impossible for her to keep up with her opponent. The assassin kicked Tohka right to the other side and knocked her out. The bandit gazed upon her target who rushed to Tohka's aid.

"Now you're N-"

The girls widened their eyes to what just happened, a blast of fire knocked off the bandit in a distance then a Spirit in a white coat walked towards them. Executioner healed Tohka's wounds and helped her stand up which is quite odd to the two girls. The Spirit of Fire gazed towards Yoshino with such sad and concerned eyes.

"Are you two alright?"

"Why did you save us? Aren't you the one that tried to kill Shido"

"There's a saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' so we'll call this a truce"

"I still don't trust you even if we're dealing with the same enemy"

Before the bandit could stand up and do a counter attack, with a snap of his hand Executioner burned his opponent from existence. The two were shocked on why did he kill her without a care and to which he respond.

"That was not the real one, it's just a mirage"

"You're saying its fake"

"Yeah, I have to go so take care you two, you've already grown…..Yoshino"

"H-How did you know my name? Why does it feel like I've seen you somewhere?"

"You'll know soon enough but right now is not the right time"

Executioner clenched his fist tightly and he felt like he's going to cry but he didn't. He gave the young Spirit a pat on the head before he disappeared again from their sight with a fire. When the two girls got home, Tohka immediately told Shido what happened when Executioner showed up.

"What happened to you two?"

"Shido, Shido, there's this burning Spirit appeared and saved us"

"What does he looks like?"

"He's wearing white and he's on fire but it's weird that he sounded like he knew Yoshino"

"Heh? How?"

"He said 'You've quite grown Yoshino' then he went all mysterious"

"Is that true Yoshino?"

"Y-yes, When I tried to ask him, he said that it's not the right time yet"

"I'll be right back, I have to tell something to Kotori"

When Shido looked at Yoshino, she had the look of someone who can't remember the past and trying to find out the answer. Shido rushed to Kotori in the Fraxinus ship and while catching his breath he told her what Tohka told him.

"What's with the rush? Are you being chased by the police or something"

"No, It's something about The Spirit of Fire"

"Huh?! Spill it out"

"By what Tohka said, it looks like Yoshino has a deep connection with him"

"What makes you say that? Though, Yoshino's arrival is still unknown"

"That Spirit knows something that we don't"

"If you even have a chance to talk to him when he shows up again, he'll just burn you again"

"This is getting out of hand"

Shido sighed out of exhaustion before sitting in a corner and sulking somehow. Kotori gave his pitiful good for nothing brother a chop on the head and a sharp kick in the kidneys. Meanwhile, The young Spirit sat against a tree to rethink what Executioner meant from back then. But whenever she closed her eyes, Yoshino always had a dream of something burning. When she woke up, Yoshino felt like she had a nightmare.

"…! What….is this?"

When the young Spirit looked at her hand, there was a scorch mark on the ground and the leaf that fell is on fire. A certain voice spoke behind her and when she looked back, Yoshino recognized her as the girl she met the other day. Kurumi noticed that the leaves that fell were burned to dust and Yoshino has no idea how did it happened.

"Ara, so you're starting to discover it"

"Do you know something?"

"The Spirit of Fire is sort of a friend of mine, I can't tell you yet"

"Then, Why did he tried to kill Shido-san before"

"Let just say, He hated Shido-san because he sealed your powers"

The cruel Spirit walked towards Yoshino and gave her a pat and offered her a walk in the city. The young Spirit felt no hostile intention towards and decided to agree to her offer to which Kurumi was delighted to. Kurumi took the young Spirit to the street were the fire occurred five years ago.

"We're here"

"Where are we?"

"The place where everything started"

The young Spirit felt a familiar memory inside of her and she dropped to her knees as Yoshino begun to suffer from a splitting headache. Just like before there were fire and that Spirit was standing in the midst of fire. She held her head as the pain continued to grow and the Spirit cried in pain but it didn't last long.

"There was a fire and that Spirit started the fire"

"All he wanted to do is to protect you"

"Why? Why does he have to burn all of them"

"When all of this is over, he'll tell you everything"

Kurumi assisted Yoshino in standing up, she wanted to tell her everything but Executioner begged her that not to tell the young Spirit about her past. The two continued to walk around the city and talk about things, Kurumi is willing to tell her what she knows about The Spirit of fire but she would avoid talking about their connections.


	4. Truth inside the Fire

I've been thinking... "Flame Spirit" is much more shorter and more comfortable so I decided to use it as a replacement.

I'm going to take a few day break. I posted chapters with one day difference or hours.

* * *

**THE OTHER DAY**

The Flame Spirit sat in a corner as he amused himself with the fire he formed to his hands. When the cruel Spirit came to visit him again, Executioner doesn't seem to be amused nor in the mood in seeing anyone right now even Kurumi. After her inspection of his serious mood, Kurumi laughed and realized why is he in such a bad mood.

"Ara, So that's why you're not in the mood"

"The more the time passes the farther my goal gets"

"You're afraid that she won't accept you and she would hate you if she finds out what you did five years ago"

"I just want to see her happy and safe, that's all a father wanted for his child"

"You're not a very good father, in fact you're a horrible one"

"Don't worry, Shido-san would watch over her and the other Spirits"

After remembering their conversation, Kurumi gave a gentle smile as she started into the light blue sky. An unexpected person entered the door of the building rooftop to meet the cruel Spirit. Shido entered the door with half of his courage with him, Kurumi greeted him with a friendly hand wave.

"Kurumi, I have something to ask to you so can you tell me the truth"

"If it's about The Flame Spirit then I'd be willing to tell you everything"

"Why did you decide to be honest all of a sudden?"

"That's because I can trust Shido-san to keep this a secret"

The cruel Spirit walked closer towards the young man who she treats as her victim and food, the more she approaches, the more Shido walk backwards. Kurumi pinned and cornered Shido against a wall and begun to whisper something in his ear.

"The Flame Spirit Executioner is the father of Yoshino, that man is the one who started the fire from five years ago"

"You're telling me that I shouldn't tell Yoshino that his father is the Spirit that killed and burned several people"

"He can't help it, His destructive impulses is hereditary"

"Wait, Yoshino can go out of control anytime….just like what happened to Kotori"

"If Yoshino finds about his father's identity, she'll hate him for sure and you might not want to make her feel bad"

Shido held his breathed and released it after he thought for a minute and made up his final decision. Shido slightly frowned on why did Kurumi refused to tell the truth a few days ago. A few people were killed and two Spirits were burned to dust.

"Fine I'll keep this as a secret but if more people got hurt, I have no choice but to tell her"

"I respect your decision Shido-san, just remember don't provoke her no matter what"

"I'll keep that in mind"

Kurumi placed her index finger to between her lips indicating that it's a secret between the two of them and he must avoid telling the young Spirit the truth. The cruel Spirit jumped down the building and disappeared before she even landed.

* * *

Inside, somewhere in an unknown location, it was a secret organization inside the AST and their leader is a commander of the AST. The unnamed bandit Spirit submitted all of her reports regarding the failed attempt to capture the Hermit because of The Flame Spirit's interference. She could have truly died by being burned if she wasn't smart enough to send a mirage.

"It's confirmed that Executioner has a connection, I suggest we strategize first"

"Executioner has powerful destructive powers but his nature can go out of control sometimes"

"I receive a record that there was not just one flame Spirit but two"

"If the other one is Executioner then the one he's protecting is the other one"

Their secret boss gave the bandit Spirit a folder containing different data of different Spirits that have appeared into this world. Some of them are hiding within ordinary people and some of them are just simply lost. Another day has ended at Raizen High, the rest of the students prepared their belongings so they can go home and rest or study. Before Kurumi could leave the school premises, Shido had to talk to her for a minute.

"Is there something you want to ask me Shido-san? I have someone else to meet so better hurry"

"Did you know about the Spirits that attacked Yoshino and Tohka?"

"There are too many spies around, We'll have to meet tomorrow, I'll text you the location"

The cruel Spirit whispered to his ear and gave Shido and chill in his spine. Shido thought that the spies Kurumi is talking about is his unknown enemy that attempted to kill him and hurt his friends. With the appearance of the flame Spirit that seems to bear deep hatred for him for unknown reason, Shido would be ripped apart if he's not careful. The four of them are having dinner at his house when Kotori noticed his brother spacing out while eating.

"Is something bothering you Shido?"

"It's about Kurumi, I feel like she's hiding something important"

"You heard from Executioner himself that he knew about you because of Kurumi"

The two Spirits who are busy eating couldn't relate to Shido and Kotori's discussion so they didn't even bother to speak. Yoshino remembered a small part of her memory regarding a Spirit that started the fire. Questions filled her doubt on who is he, why is it like he knows her and what's his connections with the fire that occurred five years ago.

"Nee Yoshino, Why aren't you wearing Yoshinon?"

"Tohka-san, I don't really know why I should but I felt like it's very important to me"

"You said he's your irreplaceable friend and you always get upset whenever something happens to it"

"Irreplaceable…..friend, Excuse me I just lost my appetite"

Shido and Kotori begun to argue and Shido has no match against her, Tohka continued to eat her dinner in a very hungry way but their attention were caught when the young Spirit stood up from the table and left in a rush. The three of them gave a "Heh?" and begun to wonder on why the young Spirit left all of a sudden. Back to her apartment that is beside the Itsuka household, Yoshino grabbed the puppet and tried to remember the importance of it to her.

"My…..Irreplaceable friend, I felt like someone gave this to me a long time ago"

A memory flashed through her, tracking back a few years ago were everything is still normal. Yoshino can barely see the man's face who is sitting beside her in a grassy meadow. It was different, it was peaceful and there were no people hunting Spirits. Unlike the way Yoshino is now, she much younger in the age of a nine year old.

"One day you will find a person that would save you"

"Like…..a hero"

"Something like that, Yoshino I have a surprise for you"

"What is it?"

"You have to learn it, first you have to concentrate your power"

Yoshino concentrated the Spirit energy inside her and it became condensed and it formed a ball of energy. She was delighted on what she did, the man beside her gave him a pat on the head. He then added a bit of his fire into the energy and crafted a physical object with a shaped of a white a rabbit puppet.

"A rabbit puppet?"

"You wished that you wanted to have a friend"

"Waa, then I'll call him Yoshinon"

"Make sure you don't lose him"

"Hmm, I will treasure him"

Yoshino stood up and wore the puppet on her left hand, she ran around with it with such joy, the man called him back and held her hand as they walk away. That was one of Yoshino's best memories before she was hunted down by the AST when she was recognized as the Spirit Hermit. Her senses were brought back to reality when Shido knocked to her door, as she opened it Shido looked a bit worried on why she left all of a sudden.

"I was trying to remember why this thing felt like it was important to me"

"You once told me that he was your hero"

"I remembered that someone gave this to me, he was not just a man but a Spirit"

"You remembered something? Then who was it"

"I can't remember clearly but he was a Spirit that controls fire"

(Forgive me Yoshino, I can't tell you about your father)

Shido bit his lips as he felt guilty for remaining the truth about her past a secret to her because of what Kurumi warned about her if she ever found about the truth. He wanted to end this as soon as possible so he wouldn't lie to Yoshino any further.

"Then I better get going, it's already late so you better sleep as well"

"Shido-san"

"Yes"

"Thank you for helping me remember my memories, I always think that you're an honest person and you never keep a secret"

"Y-yeah, me too"

He felt worse when Yoshino trusted him too much not knowing that he kept a really important secret to her. The next day before Shido was about to leave after Kurumi texted him the location of their meeting place and told him to meet her there in twenty minutes when Kotori grabbed his arm and wanted to talk about something.

"Is there something wrong Kotori?"

"Shido Are you hiding something?"

"No"

"I know you whenever you tell the truth or lie and you're obviously hiding something so you better spill it out"

"Fine but you better keep this between the two of us"

Shido looked around his surroundings first to check if there was someone listening nearby and when it was clear Shido sighed in relief. He has no choice but to tell Kotori since he knows her very well and Kotori would break his arm to force him to tell her something.

"The Flame Spirit Executioner is Yoshino's father"

"Yoshino's father?! Is that even possible?"

"He's the same Spirit that started the fire and Yoshino inherited his powers as well"

"There were no records of Yoshino using other powers beside Ice perhaps she's unaware of this"

"Just like you before, Yoshino may go out of control and gave in to her destructive nature"

"I see, then we'll avoid provoking her while we observe the situation"

"I better get going, I won't be gone for long"

Shido was already in the designated spot where Kurumi told her to wait but if they're going to talk about a secret why did she told him to wait in a crowded place, right in the middle of the shopping district. The cruel Spirit arrived exactly as the time she instructed but instead of discussing serious matters, Kurumi has something else in mind.

"Before we get to business, Why don't we go for a shopping first"

"Heh? But what about our discussion?"

"It can wait and besides, I want to spend time with my food- I mean you"

"Food? You just said food!"

Kurumi ignored his words and tightly hugged his arm while they walk, some people might think this as a misunderstanding. Inside his head, Shido is already yelling for help and if he even tried to escape, Kurumi would just drag him to her shadows and eat him.

**ONE HOUR LATER**

An hour has passed and Shido checked his body if he's still in one piece, Shido sighed and his knees are about to give up from the nonstop walk from one store to another and most of them are lingerie shop. He tried to run out to that kind of store but Kurumi would just simply drag him inside again.

"Now we did your shopping, Can we go back to what we're supposed to talk about?"

"About them, they're targeting you because you can seal a Spirit's powers and what's more is that you're keeping Spirits with you"

"I thought that they won't target me with that kind of reason but my suspicions were right"

"They have two problems right now, you and The Flame Spirit"

"Do they know about Yoshino's connection with Executioner?"

"They're stupid enough not to know since they're main target is you"

After saying what she has to say Kurumi turned her back against Shido and waved her goodbye while she carries a shopping bag. When Shido got home, Kotori is already waiting for him after she realized where he was this whole time.

"That's why you were in a hurry, You went shopping with Kurumi"

"No no that's not it, you've got it all wrong"

"Then explain why were you inside a girl's underwear shop?!"

"I was forcefully dragged, I'm telling you. Wait- were you spying at me this whole time"

"Ngh!? That doesn't matter!"

Shido defended himself by explaining what really happened but Kotori was to angry to even believe. Shido backed away as her sister's fury rose up and gave him a powerful kick on the thigh. Kotori didn't stopped stomping him right after he fell until the two Spirit were too scared to interfere and help Shido so they just watched him get beaten up very badly.


	5. Encountering a Raging Fire

Another spacequake has occurred and the same Spirit caused it as he landed again with a devastating spacequake, it was the Spirit Executioner. Just like before, the AST arrived not along after he returned to this dimension. The Flame Spirit wasn't always fond of being pestered by the AST so he attacked them without a thought. Driven by fury, Origami charged senselessly at the elusive Flame Spirit.

"I'm going to take you down no matter what"

"It's you again, Just go ahead…if you can"

With a laser sword in her hand, Tobiichi Origami attacked the Spirit as fast as she could but the Spirit acted quite different, he didn't move at all and instead he let Origami slashed him until her energy wire out. She did damaged him but she widened her eyes when she saw something odd, Executioner's wounds healed. Multi colored flames closed his wounds and his expression made it looks like he's disappointed that he didn't feel anything from her attack.

"What's wrong, Is that the best a human can do"

"Don't underestimate just because I'm human"

"Like any other humans, all you think is kill, fight and war, your kind disgust me"

"I feel the same way to you, I'll make that I'll wipe out that cool demeanor of yours"

Right before Origami's eyes, The Flame Spirit already flashed in front of her and before she could react in time, he flicked her with such force that Origami was thrown off in a distance. After Origami was knocked out, the others begun firing but Executioner effortlessly burned all their bullets to dust before it could even reach him.

"Captain, It's no use he just burn all of our bullets"

"If we do Close range combat, we'll ended up being burned"

"It's no use, we can't get close to him"

The AST hasn't taken action yet and while waiting, The Flame Spirit yawned out of impatience after he was disappointed by Origami. He thought that humans can do better but he was wrong so he decided to do the same thing he did last time, disappear again. He stomped his foot to the ground twice and fire engulfed him. Right before their eyes, the Spirit vanished like usual.

"He vanished…..again"

"All members retreat to base"

The barely burned Origami picked herself up and stared the last place The Flame Spirit stood before joining with the others at the last second.

**TWO DAYS AGO**

Shido was pondering in the sky about what he and Kotori talked about the other day. Both Shido and Kotori took the chance of having a private conversation about the elusive Flame Spirit since the two Spirits are not present in the Itsuka household.

"So any progress with Yoshino's amnesia? Did she remember anything else?"

"She did remember small things like the day I sealed her powers but not anything about her father"

"The situation will get worse if she finds out that you knew about her father but you kept it a secret"

"Moouuu, Don't remind me again, I don't know how much I can hold all this guilt"

"About Executioner, it seems he's been appearing from one place to another, it's as if he's searching for something or someone"

"Could he be searching for Yoshino? But what would happen if they met"

"It doesn't look like it, before he killed the two Spirits that attacked Tohka and Yoshino"

Now that Shido remembers it, the first one is a weird and loud Spirit that followed them a few days ago and the second one is the duo Spirits that beat up Tohka and kicked him right in the ribs. A few days after the attacked happened, The Flame Spirit appeared as he killed the two of them and for some reason, he despised Shido very much than the AST.

"Now that I think about it, Wait-"

"He's searching for the people he hates like those Spirits and specially…..you"

"Wait! You mean to tell me, he would burn me to death the moment he finds me"

"Think first, he didn't killed you last time because Yoshino arrived and it would get worse if he were to kill you"

"Oh that's right, Kurumi said that he doesn't want to be hated by his own daughter"

Their conversation ended with Kotori advising him to keep his communicator intact all the time so Ratatoskr can pull him out in case he encounters Executioner. Shido was pondering that day at the school rooftop but he was snapped out to reality, he widened his eyes as he felt a presence behind him. His heart beat faster than before as the Spirit Executioner sharply glares his red eyes at him and his breathe stiffened. What he bothered Shido most is how The Flame Spirit ever found him and why now where Shido is vulnerable.

"Y-you're….that Spirit from before, Are you here to kill me?"

"I wanted to but I want to talk to you about something important"

"If you're concerned about your daughter then I trust you not to do anything"

"I do hate you but you're the most important person to Yoshino"

It would be impossible to trust a man who almost killed him the last time they met especially that he burned two Spirit to death. Shido straightened his position and let out at a heavy sigh as he walks closer towards the fiery Spirit. His dragon knight like helmet made it impossible for him to be recognized by anyone which made sense in a way.

"I sensed that you trusted me, Why?"

"Because I know you meant no harm, You're doing this as a parent not as a Spirit"

"I see"

An alarm rang out to Ratatoskr, indicating that is detected powerful Spirit energy nearby. They traced the Spirit wave and tracked it down in an unexpected location, Raizen High. Kotori couldn't believe her eyes on what she's seeing, Shido and Executioner having a conversation and there are no violent actions included.

"Is Shido….talking with him?"

"It appears so"

"Wait, What's he doing? He's taking his helmet off!?"

"His mental state feels more secure while talking to Shin"

"So he gained a vicious Spirit's sense of security at first impression, as expected of Shido"

Shido gave a questionable "Heh?" when The Flame Spirit held his helmet with both hands and begun lifting it up slowly. That iron helmet that he wore all the time finally gave The Flame Spirit some time all the squeezed air inside him. In his Spirit form, Executioner has bright red hair matching his red eyes and his appearance is younger than his age.

"It does make sense why you wear a helmet, How old are you?"

(Aaahh! Why did I asked that, I'm so stupid)

"In human years I'm about thirty years old but I age younger when I got here"

(Ask him quick)

"Why did you show me your identity?"

"You speak of truth just by looking at you but there are things you hide"

"Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

"That is all, I must go or I might attract more attention"

The Flame Spirit walked passed Shido and gave a pat on his shoulder while staring at him with deadly intent eyes, it sent Shido a shocked straight to his body. He turned back to see the Spirit get engulfed in flames as he vanished once more from people's sights. When Shido got back to class after the break was over, a part of his uniform is a but burned.

"Shido, Why is your uniform burned?"

"Ah this, Well….It must have been the iron"

"Oh, Okay"

Shido went on with his class but what just happened when he had a talk with The Flame Spirit Executioner and managed to live. Meanwhile, Executioner was resting in a nearby abandoned he stumbled upon two of the remaining Spirits that is in his way and upon their meeting all of them engaged in combat. The other is the bandit Spirit from before while the other is a water themed Spirit.

"Two against one, How unfair and you didn't introduce yourselves"

"Since you're going to die let me introduce myself, I'm Jafra and my crook will cut your neck"

"And I'm Lily and I'm going to extinguish your fire and make sure you don't rekindle once again"

"I wouldn't mind burning you two even if you are Spirits"

In order to defeat a fearsome Spirit, both of them have to attack together with synchronized attacks and unison. His powers make it quite difficult since a single touch of his raging fire can instantly disintegrate almost anything. Whenever Lily's water conflict with Executioner's fire, it only smoked and didn't do any damage or even extinguished his fire. Whenever Jafra and Lily tried to approach, fire would get them in the way and made it more difficult.

"We can't get close to him, What should we do?"

"The usual, you distract him while I attack"

Before the two could begin another attack, The Flame Spirit decided that it has to be finished right now so he raised his right hand and spoke the name of his Angel. The two backed away as the fiery fire goes wilder and beginning to form a shape on his hand.

"He's summoning an Angel"

"This is bad"

"Burn them all….Michael!"

A holy sword with a red and gold color scheme and a grand cross hilt appeared before them as the fire formed it. Both Lily and Jafra attempted another escape but unfortunately for them, Executioner can't let them do that. The surroundings was devoured by fire and formed a sphere thus trapping the two Spirits along with him in it.

"I want this to end it quickly so I can finally finish my goal"

"Curse you Executioner!"

"I have a name, it's-"

"You'll never win…*****"

"Final Verdict!"

A whole building burst into flames and turned everything into ashes, the winner as of now is The Flame Spirit Executioner. He looked into the ruined and burned surroundings and closed his eyes to feel the presence in the wind. Executioner had a mark of disappointment in his face and accompanied it with a sigh.

"Another short death, what a disappointment"

Footsteps coming closer from behind caught the attention of the spaced out Spirit. When he looked to the source of the footsteps, Reine who is holding a small grocery bag passed by curiosity. The Flame Spirit pointed his sword with small flickering flames surrounding it, to lessen his hostility Reine introduced herself first.

"Do not be alarmed, I am Murasame Reine from the organization Ratatoskr"

"Ratatoskr? The organization where Itsuka Shido belongs to, I heard you deal with Spirits peacefully"

"Yes, I went here where a large explosion has occurred, there's a high chance that it could be the work of The Flame Spirit Executioner"

Executioner felt less hostile towards the analysis officer of Ratatoskr, he lowered his sword but not completely lowered. The Flame Spirit noticed the sleepy woman's peaceful intention to have a few words with and he decided that talking wouldn't hurt.

"May I ask you something? Why are you extremely hostile towards Shin?"

"I can't answer you that yet"

"What exactly are your intentions?"

"I have no time for being questioned, If you excuse me"

Like he always do, The Flame Spirit walked a few steps forward and flames engulfed him as he vanished again. Meanwhile inside the Itsuka household, the two Spirits Tohka and Yoshino are watching a soap opera between two sisters fighting. A few moments later and Shido came back from shopping, Tohka was glad that Shido brought her favorite Kinako bread.

"Ooohh, Kinako bread"

"Well, you liked them very much after all"

The two Spirits walked towards Shido and tried to look at what else he brought from shopping. Yoshino felt a burning feeling inside her and begun to feel weaker and dizzier. Shido noticed her weird behavior and asked if she's okay, before she could answer, The young Spirit lost consciousness.

"Yoshino!"

"Shido, she has burning fever"

"Just like before, I'll call Kotori"

Using his intercom, Shido immediately called Kotori and told her the situation, they immediately went to Fraxinus to check Yoshino's odd fever. Kotori dragged Shido to have a private conversation regarding a certain Spirit that can help them but it would be risky. The young commander was hesitant at first since it might end with Shido dying.

"There's someone that can help us with this but it won't be easy"

"Who?"

"The Flame Spirit, there's a possibility that this is happening because of her unreleased powers"

"And the only person who knows what's going on is the one the knows Yoshino's powers, her father"

"Since he despised you, He might completely burn you before the moment he sees you"

"But we don't even know where he is"

"We're not going to find him instead let him find _you_"

"Huh?! You're turning me into a bait, that's no difference than a using a worm to catch a shark"

"That's why it won't be easy and especially it's risky for you"

Shido already imagined what his death would look like but he doesn't want to let it happen right away. In able to understand the situation and help Yoshino, Shido has to convince the Spirit that hated him to help him. Records stated that he's elusive and randomly appears anytime, Shido has no choice so he agreed to Kotori's proposal.

"I don't have much choice, Am I?"

"Are you sure you don't regret your decision?"

"I never regret anything, I have to if I want to help Yoshino"

"What if he gets angrier and burned you to dust before you even know it"

"I-I don't want to imagine my future death and I certainly don't want to die that early"

"Great, we start tomorrow so be prepared"

"Yeah"

Kotori responded with a smirk on her face when she saw Shido's determination to help the young Spirit and agreeing into facing a fearsome Spirit that burned several AST members and few other Spirits. The two walk off to organize a plan on how to lure out The Flame Spirit Executioner and avoid giving Shido and early and burning death.

* * *

I can't find any brief Hebrew translation for "Final Verdict" because it's written in Hebrew and there's no pronunciation for it.

Final Verdict = פסק דין סופי


	6. Facing Two kinds of Heat

It's already high noon of the day when Shido stood in a top of a building, according to Kotori, The Flame Spirit's recent activities and appearances are around that block. He was sweating even more when he spotted violent fired raining a few meters away. It looks like Executioner is engaged in a battle with the AST but it didn't last long since he vanished once more. Kotori was about to check up on Yoshino's condition when she slowly woke up from her high fever.

"Yoshino? You woke up, don't move too much you have a fever"

"Kotori-san, Where's Shido-san?"

"Well…..uh…..He's busy right now, Shido needs to talk to someone"

"I noticed Shido-san is acting weird, Is he hiding something?"

"Shido is just….stressed, right stressed"

"Then Shido-san needs some time alone"

"That's right, Now if you'll excuse me I have to go somewhere else"

Kotori might end up in a corner since Yoshino is already beginning to suspect about Shido hiding something so she ran out of the door to prevent upsetting Yoshino. The small commander immediately head back to the control room and checked if The Flame Spirit is nearby Shido's range. When she got back, the alarm rang out and Kotori then checked the monitor, a trail of fire is heading to Shido's direction in a fast speed.

"Shido! He's coming your way!"

"Heh?!"

"Just make sure you live"

"That's not funny Kotori!"

A burst of flame appeared before Shido and behind those flames is the Spirit itself standing before Shido. Executioner looked at him with deadly serious eyes and a killing intent, Shido back away a few steps before he spoke first and asked the Spirit for help even though he might get killed.

"I need your help Flame Spirit, something happened to Yoshino, I don't care if you kill me I just need to help her"

"Y-you, First of all, my name is Yamato and second, What did you do?!"

"I-I didn't do anything, this is her second time the fever appeared "

"High fever? second time? Just as I thought it's beginning to surface"

"You mean her powers"

"This is your fault Itsuka Shido!"

"I didn't do anything, I'm telling you the truth"

"I'll turn you into ashes! Come forth, Michael!"

(He's summoning an Angel?)

Yamato raised his right hand and called upon the name of his Angel to summon it, Flames gathered and for the shape of the sword on his hand. His sword glow as the flickering flames gathered in it to form a slash of flames, as he landed a blow, it didn't hit Shido and instead a wall of ice caught the attack. Shido wiped his eyes after he saw Yoshino who barely have any strength yet she still protected him even though she has a high fever.

"Y-Yoshino? What are you doing here, you still have a fever"

"S-Shido-san…I saw you…..and that Spirit"

"You shouldn't move too much or your condition will get worse"

Yoshino's legs gave up and she was dropped down to her knees, seeing Yoshino protected Shido even in that condition only made The Flame Spirit more furious to Shido. He clenched his fist, charged Shido and dragged below the building where he lift his shirt with one hand and pointed Michael against him. Yoshino couldn't bear to watch this but she has no enough power to match against The Flame Spirit, she asked herself and needed more power.

" If I don't do something Shido-san will…..I need more power, I need more to save Shido-san"

Yoshino forced herself to stand up but she's still too weak to use her Spirit powers, a familiar sensation flowed inside her and it felt like power. The young Spirit screamed as the power were released by her, Yoshino begun to palely glow as the flames caught the attention of the two who is busy yelling at each other.

"If you're going to kill me then kill me just help Yoshino"

"You…..Why do you care for others than yourself"

"Well….because…Just like the others, Yoshino is important to me as well, after I met her I realized her kindness"

"So you foolishly faced me so you can me for help"

"Yeah, Just please I need your- What….is that?"

"Those flames…."

Yamato was thrown away in a distance causing him to let go of Shido when a ray of flames directly shot him. Shido turned his head to the figure surrounded by flames, it was Yoshino in a different Astral dress, she wore a buttoned white coat with a white under dress and a pair of white boots. Her hair turned red and her eyes glared sharply, it was the face of someone who is determined to save someone. Holding in her hand, is an Axe similar to An executioner except it has a gold and red color scheme.

"How did you...able to use that power"

"I want to save Shido-san no matter what"

"I'm amazed that you were able to establish a powerful connection with the Spirits, Itsuka Shido"

"I have no choice to fight you if you want to hurt Shido-san"

"Since you're already fine, I have no other business here and you…."

"Heh?"

"I'm beginning to be impressed with you….Shido, I admire your determination to save Spirits but I will kill you the next time we meet"

The Flame Spirit, Yamato turned his back to Yoshino but before he do, he spoke a few words to Shido before leaving. Yamato wouldn't fight her own daughter for she's the most important person to her, as a father he tends to be jealous on how Yoshino cares for Shido. After he left, Yoshino's legs gave up and her astral dress glowed as it faded away before she lost consciousness. When Shido carried her, the fever disappeared which is kind of a good news. Kotori immediately drag Shido so they can talk about what just happened.

"Shido, What was that?"

"It's a part of powers that Yoshino inherited from her father"

"Oh that's right…..Anyway, Now that her powers resurfaced you have to reseal it"

"The basics, Take the Spirit on a date and make her fall in love"

"Glad you still remember it but you have to avoid that Spirit, if Yoshino haven't arrived you could've been a burned corpse"

"He didn't fight because Yoshino was there"

Shido remembered very well on how he was about to be burned by Yamato's Angel and saved by Yoshino before he could have died. Yoshino was sitting in a bench while she was being bugged by that oddly familiar Spirit, his flames reminded her of someone she knew. The only thing she doesn't understand now is the familiar power that she was able to use to drive away the furious Spirit.

"What's with this power?"

"Hey Yoshino, What are you doing here?"

A friendly voice spoke out of nowhere alerted Yoshino when a figure revealed herself from the shadows, an unusual feeling inside her flowed through Yoshino. Upon seeing gluttonous Spirit, Yoshino suddenly attacked Tohka with a wave of fire. Her destructive impulses kicked in and she just can't control herself to destroy anything or anyone in her sight.

"Hey! What are you doing Yoshino?"

"I have the rushed feeling to burn you right now"

"I guess I have to snap you back to reality"

Fraxinus detected two massive Spirit energies clashing with one another, the pinpointed the location near a shopping district. When the screen popped out, there were two Spirits fighting each other, the first one is Tohka who is quickly dodging multiple flaming slashes and the other is Yoshino who is in her Flame Spirit mode, her fire caused the surroundings to burn.

"Is that even….Yoshino"

"Commander, the fire is spreading to nearby establishments"

"This is bad, Shido is the only one who could calm her down"

"That's true but sending Shin would be risky"

"Wait! Is that Shido? Why is heading to where two Spirits are fighting"

Shido noticed the burning trees near him and the more he run forwards, the stronger the fire gets. He must be close to the source of the fire, as soon as he got there, Tohka and Yoshino continued fighting each other. Shido couldn't get near with all the fire spreading around, Tohka's body is full of scorches and burns.

"Yoshino stop! You're burning everything"

"It's no use Shido, Yoshino thinks of destroying everything and everyone"

Tohka couldn't handle all the fires that Yoshino threw so she jumped back and tried to catch her breath. The young Spirit raised her axe 'Uriel' and fire gathered around it until the shape is no longer visible. The Axe's designs indicating its enhance state, her attacks became more powerful by each time Yoshino swings the axe that also releases flames.

"What's wrong Tohka-san? Getting tired already, let's have a wonderful fight"

"What's wrong with you? You never liked fighting or hurting anyone"

"I don't care anymore, stand up and let's have a fight to the death"

Tohka was dropped down to her knees when she can't defend herself from Yoshino's heavy attacks. When she was about to land a final blow to Tohka with an execution, Shido quickly run and stood in front of Tohka and spread his arms. The young Spirit stopped for a while with a "Hmm?" and confused why Shido is in the way.

"Stop it Yoshino, If you do this you'll kill Tohka"

"Why should I stop?"

"Do you want to be a murderer? Do you want to kill your friend?"

"No…No, I-I don't want to kill anybody, I don't want to kill my friends"

"Calm down Yoshino, I'm not going to let you turn into a murderer"

"Shido-san, I'm scared that I might hurt someone"

After being back to her senses by Shido's voice, Yoshino realized that he almost killed Tohka if Shido didn't stop her. She held dropped down her axe and held head while she thought of such scary things. He managed to calm her down and the fire eventually disappeared, Shido has to seal her powers fast before this happens again. Behind the dark shadows, is a hidden figure that smiled before it disappeared after Shido and the two Spirits left. It was Kurumi who joyfully went to tell the news to Yamato who is still currently upset.

"I have great news for you Yamato-san but you wouldn't like it"

"What could be worse than my own daughter saving a foolish man"

"Just like you said, her powers resurfaced and Shido-san will probably reseal it"

"Itsuka….Shido, I'll kill him when I see him again"

"If you do that then Yoshino would never forgive you, Can you live with that?"

"No but I have to observe him if he's really the boy who can seal a Spirit's powers"

"Then I'll be your eyes when Shido-san is in school"

"Suit yourself, I need some time to sleep"

Yamato is currently resting in Kurumi's house after that incident and she insisted that he stayed in her house. He has dark blue hair when not in his Spirit form and his age would be about in the early thirties.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Their homeroom teacher Tamae assigned a group project for the whole class and ironically, Shido, Kurumi and Tohka are in the same group along with other students such as Tonomachi. Before the class ended, some of the groups discussed on how they're going to do their project and so they decide to where they're going to discuss it. A bad idea struck to Tonomachi's mind and it's the worst one yet.

"Hey, Why don't we do it Tokisaki-san's house"

"Heh? My house, But you can't"

"It sounds like a good idea" One of the students agreed

"For once I agreed" The other one nodded his head

(This is bad, If Yamato-san and Shido-san meet it would be the end)

The class has already ended and a group of students that includes Shido, Tohka and Kurumi, walked and head towards the merciless Spirit's place. Inside her house is properly organized and neatly cleaned house, it was amazing on how tidy Kurumi's house is. Even though she lives sort of alone, her home has a second floor where The Flame Spirit is currently sleeping. Kurumi's top priority is to avoid anyone especially Shido to notice Yamato upstairs.

"Kurumi-san, Where's your bathroom?"

"You can use the one upstairs"

"Why is there other clothes here? It looks like a long sleeve for men"

"Is your relative living here?"

"Y-yeah, my uncle is sleeping upstairs so don't disturb him"

Kurumi went to the kitchen to get some snacks while they do a group project by writing a report on how to save more energy. Shido's bladder is about to burst so he ran towards the bathroom upstairs and relieved himself, as he was about to head dback, Shido heard a loud 'thump' coming from inside a room. He was curious on who it might be since Kurumi have no relatives. Kurumi got back with some biscuits and juice and found out that Shido disappeared.

"Ara, Where did Shido-san go?"

"Oh, Itsuka-kun went to the bathroom upstairs"

"He's taking quite some time"

Kurumi gently put down the tray of snacks before rushing upstairs so she can check if Shido found something or someone. As Shido was about to slowly reach for the doorknob with sweat on his face, Kurumi got in time to stop him from opening the door. He hurriedly grabbed Shido's arm and whispered to him about something.

"Shido-san, It's rude to sneak into other people's room"

"I'm sorry Kurumi, I'm just curious"

"You don't want to know who's in their"

When they got downstairs, the rest of the group started doing their project by doing a scale model of the city with some illustrations on the efficient way to save electricity. They started by gluing cardboards together and painting them in various colors, Tohka enjoyed the painting part as she colored the cardboards in bright colors.

"Doing project is fun Shido"

"Wait till you see the other projects on other subjects"

"A few more and were almost done"

"Ah, I'll take care of the illustrating part"

"Then I'll help you with that Shido-san"

The day ended with their project being done thanks to their teamwork, the scale model is complete and the illustration with the description and explanation is complete. Everyone else head back, a few steps away and Shido inspected his pockets and realized his phone disappeared.

"Shido, What's wrong?"

"My phone is gone, I must have left it back at Kurumi's house"

"Then let's go back and get it"

The Flame Spirit woke up in time when the students have left Kurumi's house, he went downstairs and found Kurumi picking up a try of used glasses. He thought that she might have visitors while he's asleep, when he asked her on who was in her house, Kurumi replied to him with a smile.

"Just some classmates who insisted on doing a project in here"

"I'm thirsty so I'm going to get a drink"

"Suit yourself, Ara, Someone's on the door"

The doorbell caught the merciless Spirit's attention and so she went to the front door to check on who it might be. She turned the knob of the door with a smile and found out that Shido and Tohka came back to pick up the phone that Shido left.

"That must be your phone, it's in the living room"

"Thank you very much, I thought I lost it"

"Ara, You should be more careful Shido-san"

"I am, I just happened to forgot something this time"

Kurumi, Shido and Tohka head to her living room and spotted Shido's phone on the coffee table, as he was able to pick up his phone, an unlikely person came from the kitchen then to the living room to check who were the people on the door and slightly heard some voices. While holding his glass of water, Shido and Yamato's eyes met and both of them gave a shocking expression.

"Itsuka…..Shido"

"Y-Yamato-san, It's you"

"Ara, Ara, This is bad, Of all the times and places they meet"

"Just What in the world is going on Shido?"

The Flame Spirit dropped his glass after he unexpectedly spotted the boy he tried the last time they met, Shido and Yamato spend the few seconds staring at each other. Kurumi tilted her head and hit it after a bad event just happened. Shido looked very nervous and surprised while Yamato is obviously furious and surprised just by judging his expression. How will the day end without any houses getting destroyed or Shido getting out alive.

* * *

PREVIEW (UPCOMING CHAPTERS):

(Kotori and Shido talking)

"I can't stand this anymore but I can't just tell Yoshino that Yamato-san is her father"

(sudden sound)

"Y-Yoshino?"

_My Flashdrive that contains the files for Dragon Nest is now forever gone (April 21 2014). I'm going to be sad and too depressed to type any chapters from now on. A few weeks will take my mind of it._

_(crying in the inside)_

_This is what a gamer's heart being broken feels like. It's really painful._


	7. Parent and Child Confrontation

Inside the invisible ship of Fraxinus, Kotori had a chat with Shido who is worried about Yoshino's current state. He could still picture the moment she was about to kill Tohka without a second thought until he stepped in and was able to bring her back to her senses. But what Kotori wanted to ask is what happened the other day

"You said that you met The Flame Spirit, Yamato"

"Y-yeah, back at Kurumi's house"

"So, how did you get out alive?"

"I would say it's easy and hard at the same time"

Shido laid down his head and recalled all the short events that he could remember yesterday. It was a very odd day, Shido thought on why is he on Kurumi's house and it was a miracle that he got off easily.

**TWO DAYS AGO**

Shido's legs were shaking, his teeth were rattling, his thought went into chaos and he realized that he could be killed right now if it wasn't for the stomp of a beautiful young lady. Kurumi stepped right in between the two before her house gets burned to dust. She hand out her arms and blocked Yamato and Shido's face, with a frown of Kurumi's face and calm voice, she suggested not to fight for now.

"I would appreciate if both of you part ways before I send both of you to the past"

"I-I'm fine with that, People might get hurt if a fire were to happen"

"I see, I don't have time for this either"

"I have to talk to you first, I'll explain everything to you Shido-san tomorrow"

The next morning after the class ended once again, Kurumi grasped Shido's arm and dragged him in a secluded corner where they could have a conversation without being noticed. Inside his head are a lot of questions that needed answers and problems that required solutions.

"Yamato-san is staying my house because I asked him to and about your friend's current state"

"You saw what happened a few days ago, haven't you?"

"I saw everything and let me just say that if you don't do anything soon, her condition will just get worse"

"What do you mean?"

"Everything around you will turn into a living hell just like five years ago"

"Just like…that day"

Yes, remembering the day that everything is swallowed by fire and people were running for their lives. In the midst of fire, Shido can remember a black and vague figure of a person holding a sword in his hand while that person stares at the surroundings with a thirst for destruction. Shido heard a soft cry of a child somewhere in the black smokes that blocked his vision.

"Shido-san, What are you planning to do now? Now that she discovered her powers"

"Yoshino doesn't like hurting people and that's why I must seal her powers fast"

"Do whatever you want but you have to be careful about keeping the secret"

"Sometimes I can't just understand you Kurumi"

"Nobody does Shido-san, Nobody does"

Their conversation ended with Kurumi turning her back against Shido and waving her hand as she sways along with her skirt. Shido was rather left confused on what she just said but he just ignored it a few moments later. It's been three days since that sudden inciden and Ratatoskr's test on Yoshino is still not done, Shido came by to check the depressed Spirit's condition.

"How do you feel Yoshino?"

"I still don't understand, How was I able to use that kind of power?"

(I can't tell her yet that she got it from her father)

"Shido-san, What if it happens again and I might hurt people"

"It won't happen, I won't let it happen I promise"

To lessen Yoshino's fear of hurting others, Shido gave her a pat on the head and promised that he wouldn't let it happen. He was still bothered on what Kurumi said about 'everything will turn into a living hell just like five years ago'. Shido went out for a while after Kotori arrived and twitched her head while she crossed her arms. In a peaceful day in a peaceful park, Yamato seemed to be in a bad mood while Kurumi is in her usual happy mood, his aura emitted big disappointment and burning fury.

"Ara, Are you mad because I stopped you before you could kill Shido-san?"

"Of course! Now that Yoshino's powers came back, I'm mad more than ever!"

"What are you going to do if she ever finds out about the truth? After all you left without explaining anything for five years"

"I….have no choice, that's the same day I lost that Spirit"

"Don't forget that Phantom helped you that day, though it went on a wrong way"

"I can't blame that woman, she watched over Yoshino for me when I left"

The sounds of their footsteps stopped when several marching of several armed men in a black armor went out of the vans and surrounded the two Spirits and threatened them. All of them are some of the people that knew the existence of Spirits since they work for 'that man'. They didn't come to have a good day and the two of them knew that so Kurumi and Yamato manifested their Astral dress. Fire surrounded The Flame Spirit while dark shadows clad Kurumi, she held her musket and Flintlock pistols while crossing her arms while he swayed his sword.

"Spirit identification: Nightmare, Executioner"

"Threat level: Nightmare: S-class, Executioner: SS-class"

"Records: Both are known to cause casualties"

"I feel like burning humans right now but if you insist then I'll be obliged to"

"Ara Ara, This is the first time I will kill human who insisting in fighting"

"Mr. Westwood has ordered as to eliminate the Spirit Nightmare and Executioner"

A man with a banner in his armor raised his right arm and immediately raised it down to signal his men to open fire at the two Spirits. Kurumi and Yamato was able to dodge the bullets with a jump, it looks like they're especially trained to deal with S class and above Spirits. The bullets contain especial energy that can pierce a Spirit's Astral dress.

"This is the first time I felt pain from a human, those bullets can pierce through our Astral Dress"

"Then I'll just wipe them with one attack"

"Hey, hey, you're not going to use 'that' are you?"

"Yeah"

"I'll block those bullets, make sure that you lessen the range"

The merciless Spirit jumped backwards and used her ability to teleport in a distance using her power to use time. Yamato pierced his sword to ground and laid and bowed in of his knees while his both hands grasped the Michael's cross like hilt and uttered a few words. A smile appeared on Kurumi as if she knew what's coming next.

"Kyukyoku no jikko!"

A huge read magic circle with Hebrew incantations and pentagram in the middle appeared on the sky and a huge flaming sword with chains surrounding it fell down from the sky and killed everyone on its radius, that attack left a deep crater on the ground. There was someone who managed to barely survive by going out of range. The squad's captain can no longer stand up but was able to even breathe.

"Ara, So you're still alive?"

"How…..is this…even possible? We're trained….to deal….with dangerous Spirits"

"But you never faced one and I'm one of them"

"N…o"

"Final Verdict, Guilty"

Yamato pointed his Angel towards the barely alive captain's neck and ended his life with an immediate execution by decapitating his head. Only smokes and a destroyed park was left before the two Spirits flee from the scene. When the police arrived, all of them are puzzled on how a deep crater with a cross shaped hole in the middle was made. Of course there were people who went to check on the scene and among them were Kurumi and Yamato who somehow came back.

"I wonder what did this? A bomb maybe?" The officer with a notepad scratched his head

"Or the ground collapsed? the second one with a camera came closer to the crater

"Luckily no one saw what you did?" Kurumi pressed her cheeks innocently

"Anything I do would catch people's attention" The Flame Spirit turned back away from the scene

Kurumi joyfully skipped and followed him while saying "wait for me~" in a joyful and girly tone. Ratatoskr would have noticed this as well since it was obviously done by a Spirit and they detected two immense Spirit waves this afternoon. The video wasn't near but Kotori analyzed the identity of the two Spirits detected at that time, there were also some armed humans in the scene. Shido was called by Kotori to show him what The Flame Spirit has done again and this time, Kurumi is with him.

"Yamato-san caused that crater on the news?"

"Guess what, He's not alone that time"

"Someone else?"

"See for yourself"

With a single press of a button, a video popped on a screen and begun playing but their cameras couldn't get near from the scene. The Flame Spirit, Yamato and Kurumi is the first one that caught Shido's attention after that those men started firing their weapons but the two of them were able to block it. After that, the part where Yamato did the 'punishment' happened and then the two of them left the scene.

"In the end, he only fought as a sign of defense"

"I know but killing those people is just too cruel even though they're bad"

"It's the law of life and the world, people fight so they can live another day"

"It would be impossible to let Yoshino know what her own father did"

"He decapitated several people according to his record but Kurumi still holds the record for most casualties"

"I need some fresh air"

Before Shido could leave the room, Kotori almost forgot about something and its regarding about Yoshino. Reine is the one who observed about it and came up with a sure theory according to her behavior.

"You know, Yoshino's mental state lowered a bit"

"Heh? Why?"

"Reine said that Yoshino might be getting a little suspicious to her surroundings, It's like she's beginning to doubt the people around her"

"That's why I don't want to keep this a secret but I must or Yoshino might ended up hurting people again"

"He's the Spirit from five years ago, He might know who turned me into a Spirit"

"Can we talk outside, I prefer brighter places"

Kotori leaned against the cold steel wall of a hallway while Shido stood in the middle and started the conversation about Yamato's connection five years ago. Shido vaguely remembered a Spirit standing in the midst of fire with glowing red eyes and a killer smirk on the face and what more is the voice of a child crying somewhere.

"There's a huge possibility that he started the fire and there's also someone else with him"

"Another Spirit?"

"I'm not sure but I know I heard a voice somewhere, like a voice of someone crying"

"Shido, Promise me that you won't tell Yoshino about what you saw"

"Yeah, I promise I won't tell Yoshino…..yet"

"Tell me what Shido-san?"

Shido's spine felt a sharp jolt strike him to his brain as he heard the voice of a Young Spirit speaking out of nowhere. They were busy talking that they didn't notice Yoshino passing by, luckily she didn't hear everything just the last part. It would be a bad idea to run away now for it will increase the suspicion of the Spirit so Shido has to avoid spilling out everything instead.

"N-N-Nothing, It's a secret, right a secret for grownups"

"Yeah…okay"

There's a secret organization within the AST and it consists of several people and significant AST members. The only Spirit that barely managed to escape The Flame Spirit, is the Spirit whose water is her playground. After their last encounter with Executioner, Lily is the only who managed to escape him but she took several burns and wounds after that. Mr. Westwood the mastermind of the operation decided to use the experimental 'Spirit energy' to give himself partial Spirit powers while Lily takes care of the other Spirit of Fire.

"I have receive reports that there are two Spirit of Fires, Executioner and the newly awakened Hermit"

"That's why you lost, We need to come up with a plan before we can eliminate Itsuka Shido and those two Flame Spirit"

"Who should we eliminate first, there are Spirits protecting Itsuka Shido. Princess, Hermit and Ifreet"

"Let me think about it for a few hours, you'll be assigned in the next mission"

"Is it because of fourth squad's death"

"Yes, We start tomorrow"

The scar that was left from the previous battles is still visible in her skin and she could never forgive The Flame Spirit. Lily still remembers on how she escaped her supposedly death, it was then when the fire was about to devour her not until she used water to liquefy her body and evaporate before emerging all the evaporated water hours later.

THE NEXT DAY

A walk outside where it's bright and sunny can lift up a person's mood, little do Yoshino knows that the vengeful Spirit, Lily begun to trail and wait for the opportunity to ambush her. A turn in a street and the water Spirit grabbed the chance and attacked the Young Spirit with water jets. Yoshino took a direct hit from the condensed water that can harm badly like a solid object, steam came out of her as she tried to regain her balance. Her voice and body begun to tremble as Yoshino tries to hold back her destructive impulses which is visible to her glowing red eyes.

"I….don't want to hurt people that's why I don't like fighting"

"If you won't fight then let me just finish you quickly!"

"I'm not trying to protect myself, I'm trying to protect others from me"

"Stop pouting nonsense and die already, you…..you're like that man"

"Ngh! I can't hold it back anymore, I…already warned…..you"

For a moment Yoshino stopped moving but then a smirk appeared on Yoshino. Her hair turned red and her red eyes gave a sharp glare, she succumbs to her raging instincts to destroy her opponent. Fire surrounded her and it slowly manifested the shape of her astral dress until it's fully completed. Then she summoned her other Angel, Uriel which took the shape of a gold and red axe appeared before her hands. Even her cold water couldn't extinguish that kind of fire, the fire that cuts its way through everything with a single swing.

"Y-you, With Angel or Not I'm still going to eliminate you"

"I'll cut off your head before you could do that"

"Ha! As expected, another Executioner!"

Shido was having his usual lunch with Tohka when huge black smokes rose up to the sky and caught the attention of every people that can see it. Clearly, it's not an ordinary fire for the raging flames rose up highly as well. Students took out their phones and took flashy pictures and amateur videos of the fire. A buzzing tone rang out in his right ear and it was Kotori who called him to tell what kind of activity is this.

"Shido, this is bad, really bad"

"Kotori, Is this Yamato-san's doing again?"

"No…it's Yoshino and she's engaged in a combat with another unidentified Spirit but-"

While Shido is busy communicating in his intercom, Tohka pulled his sleeve and pointed at the direction to where the fire is. Since Tohka is a Spirit, Shido can freely tell Tohka about what's really going on.

"Shido, What's going on? Why is there a huge fire"

"The truth is…..Yoshino is fighting against another Spirit but-"

"But what?"

"She's…..not acting like herself, just like when she attacked you"

"Then we better stop Yoshino before she hurts innocent people"

Other students are too busy being mesmerized by the burning and smoking establishments that they didn't notice Shido and Tohka run out of the school so they can head towards the huge fire. When they got there, it was already worse than they expected, everything was burning and Yoshino was about to decapitate her opponent without second thought.

"Yoshino! Don't kill her!"

Her arms were already ready to swing down the axe to cut off her head but Shido's loud voice made her stop mid way. Yoshino raised down the axe for a moment and asked Shido about this. Lily is already terrified to lose her head even just by looking at the huge axe and its sharp blade beside her. Her body is already full of wounds and she wouldn't last long with those kind of serious injuries, Her time is almost up as she can barely see straight and breathe right.

"Shido-san, Give me a reason why should I"

"Ngh, Why should you? Killing is wrong and I don't want you to hurt anyone"

"Why?"

"I promised to you that I won't let you hurt people"

"Then prove that promise Shido-san!"

"Stop! Don't do it!"

Yoshino raised her axe once more and Shido's plead couldn't stop her from swinging it down but what did stop her is a sword that blocked the path of her axe. She turned to her right and found out that it was Yamato who stopped her. She backed away and examined the familiar Spirit before, that helmet makes it harder for her to recognize the other Spirit of fire.

"I can't let you kill people especially other Spirits!"

"Who…are you?"

"I can't tell you yet, this is not the right time"

"If you have no intention of telling me then you don't deserve to live"

"I'm not going to fight you"

"It makes things easier that way"

Another fight between two Spirits started again, Yoshino's attacks were heavy but Yamato still has no intention of fighting, instead he blocks and dodges all of her attacks. The Flame Spirit made a wrong step when he was trying to dodge and this left an opening to him. When Yoshino swing her axe, it only made a slash on the left part of his helmet, he backed away as he tried to grasp his cracking helmet. She was about to finish him off when his helmet slowly cracks and small pieces started to fell down.

"You're a coward who refuses to show his identity to anyone"

"You're too young to understand, today is not the right time"

As she was about to walk close enough to reveal the identity of the mysterious Flame Spirit, a bullet was shot right in front of Yoshino and made her stop right there. She heard a distance laughter coming closer and revealed the merciless yet beautiful Spirit, Kurumi. She was just in time before Yoshino could even see Yamato's partially cracked helmet, Kurumi crossed her guns before she jumped down in front of the Flame Spirit who was dropped down to his knees while grasping the cracked part of his helmet.

"Forgive me for my tardiness, Luckily I was just in time to save you"

"Fine, I only owe you one this one time nothing else"

"Shall we make our exit Flame Spirit"

"Not yet"

He formed his fingers into a shape of a gun and he shot a small ball of fire that directly hit Yoshino's chest and made her faint down to the ground. Before Shido rushed towards the unconscious Young Spirit and before he could yell at the Flame Spirit, Kurumi supported him in standing up and the two disappeared when fire engulf them.

"Shido, What just happened?"

"I don't know, I'm not sure if I should thank him or be confused"

"Thank him? Why?"

"When he shot Yoshino with that weird beam, her astral dress disappeared and she looks like she's back to normal"

"This…..is one weird day"

"Yeah, it is"

Just like how Yoshino lost consciousness and calmed down, the fire around them settled down as well. Ratatoskr will take care in cleaning up while Tohka and Shido who is carrying Yoshino goes back to Fraxinus. After what they just witnessed, Kotori drag Shido in a corner to plan out on how to seal Yoshino's uncontrollable power through a date as soon as possible.

"We can't any more time Shido, This is serious"

"I know, I must seal Yoshino's powers"

"And to do that you have to make her fall for you and kiss her with the help of a date"

"When do we start?"

"Tomorrow" Kotori held her lollipop with a smirk on her face

According to Ratatoskr, the unidentified Spirit already died of serious injuries and was taken by some company people. Yamato fixed his half cracked helmet using his flames while Kurumi happily watches him.


	8. Choices He Made

Sitting in a top of a building is The Spirit of Fire that continually stares at the slowing moving clouds in the sky. He let out a sigh with a depressed tone when the rhythmic footsteps of Kurumi disturbed his peace. Yamato lazily turned his head and gave Kurumi a dead eye expression, the day made him feel lazy and heavy that he refuses to do anything else.

"Ara, You look like you could use some cold refreshments"

"Don't bother me now, I'm too lazy to move a muscle"

"Then I'll go wander in the city for a while to find something interesting"

"Suit yourself, I just want to take a nap" He was about to close his eyes when he just remembered a simple reminder to Kurumi before she wanders off again "Don't wake me up if it's not important"

"I understand….Flame Spirit"

Communicating through the intercom, Kotori narrated Shido all the instructions including all back plans. The moment the date started, Shido felt like something is not right with Yoshino for she's been unusually silent and showed no interest whatsoever. Even so, her mental state remained normal but Shido won't be able to seal her powers if this continues so he improvised to break the ice. Before he managed to speak a word, Yoshino spoke first.

"The weather…it's hotter than usual"

"Heh? I-I mean yes it is"

"Shido-san, I noticed that sometimes you move too late" she raised her head and turned to him while saying it in a serious tone "Am I right?"

"Y-Yoshino?" Shido found out the oddity in Yoshino's behavior, she is way different from before, serious and more silence. He gave a gasp when he saw her crimson red eyes "You don't look fine"

"You looked surprised, I feel different myself"

"E…h"

After a few seconds of awkward atmosphere, Yoshino stopped for a while and blinked her eyes, the shade of red in her eyes became sapphire blue. She held her head and tried to regain the current situation, even though she don't know what she just said, Yoshino felt a bit hazy. She turned to Shido and asked him a question.

"Ah?...Why did I say that"

"Heh?"

"I know what I said but I don't know why"

(Subconsciously?)

Just right on the other side of the street, Kurumi was enjoying her crepe parfait when the figure of a blue haired boy accompanied by a young girl caught her attention. A cunning smile appeared on her as she silently laugh, it looks she found something interesting. To know more, Kurumi stealthily followed the two as she finds things getting more interesting and intriguing. While walking, Yoshino noticed wooden stacks being burned in a screen, the image of a raging fire crossed her mind.

"Ah!"

"What's wrong?"

"Fire…fire everywhere…..people burning…running"

"Don't stress yourself"

"I-I understand, I need to go…..to a bathroom"

"There's a public bathroom right over there"

The confused Spirit, walked away while hiding the doubt and the strange feeling she just had. Every time whenever fire crossed her mind, it's something painful and unpleasant, almost like a tragic memory. In a quiet bathroom, Yoshino blankly gazed at the mirror after she washed her face. It was perfectly quiet and empty for her to rethink everything, on the past few days, Yoshino always had a nightmare that involves fire.

(I'm sorry, I'm really sorry)

(W-why? Why? Why?))

(It's my fault that you have suffered this)

(I hate you! How could you do this?!)

"What was that? Who is that man?"

Yoshino shook her head as she tried to worry about those later, Shido is still waiting outside when she gave him a fake smile. She knew if she ever tell Shido about this, everything would just get worse. The Persistent secret Boss hide himself among the crowded streets of Tengu Square, Kurumi detected the unpleasant presence of him and hurriedly rush back to the asleep Flame Spirit.

"Yamato-san! Yamato-san!"

"…."

"I have no choice but to wait for you to wake up"

Kurumi can't help it but she's forced to observe and follow the persistent mastermind before he makes any unnecessary actions such as provoking two Flame Spirits and causing a battle to occur. While walking, a small hunch made Yoshino looked back to her surroundings but there was nothing but ordinary people walking by.

"What's wrong?"

"I felt like there was someone watching"

"I don't see anyone suspicious, Must be your imagination"

"I guess so"

"There's a good restaurant nearby, Why don't we eat there for a while"

A man in his early thirties wearing a fedora grinned his teeth the more he thinks about Spirits. Even Yoshino is still a young Spirit, she still managed to kill a fellow Spirit without even knowing. Using a sephira crystal, he gained Spirit powers but almost as strong as a real Spirit.

"Flame Spirit….I'm going to kill both of you"

Inside a restaurant, Shido ordered curry while Yoshino ordered spaghetti, she was in a good mood when Shido took the opportunity to ask her a question about the origin of her other power, if Yoshino has a clue about her own powers. He put down the spoon and gathered his courage as he open his mouth to speak.

"Nee Yoshino, It might be sudden but do you know anything about your powers as a flame Spirit"

"I have very little memories about my past" Yoshino felt that there's a painful feeling piercing her chest when Shido mentioned about it "But I was able to remember about you and some of my memories with the others"

(It looks like Yoshino hasn't remembered about her father but I still have to be careful what to say)

"Shido-san, you look like in deep thought"

"Ah- No it's nothing"

A few moments later and a bright beam of light exploded in a nearby store, people begun to panic and run away from the explosion as a common instinct. The two of them ran out to examine the situation and a man in a suit walked out of the smoke with a serious face. What caught their attention is the energy emitting spear and staff hybrid he's holding and his weird clothes or armor.

"Are you as Spirit?" Those were the first thing Shido thought just by judging from his weird attire and mysterious weapon he weilds.

"You could say that I got a Spirit's powers by stealing it from another Spirit I killed"

"You….killed a Spirit? Why did you caused the explosion?"

"I'm just here to deal with that Spirit with you and I don't want unnecessary witnesses"

A ball of light formed at the tip of the spear like staff when he pointed it forwards and he fired it like a laser towards Yoshino. The blast knocked her off in the wall and got covered in the rubble. Shido was shocked by the fast moments but he shook his head to reality but before he could run to the young Spirit, small beams made his foot suddenly stop.

"Where do you think you're going? Help that Spirit?"

"Just What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm going to kill her of course then that wretched Flame Spirit who got in my way"

"I'm not going to let you succeed"

"How are you going to-"

The rubble that covered Yoshino exploded into small pieces, flames clad her body and her white Astral Dress begun to manifest its form. Her eyes glowed and her hair turned red but a smirk formed on her lips when she showed herself to his enemy.

"Uriel!" A huge gold and red axe generated from the flames around her "What's wrong? Why do you look surprised? Aren't you going to kill me"

"Tsk, It looks like it's going to be harder than I thought"

"Pick up your weapon and charge at me with all your might!"

Yoshino gathered force in her feet and kicked the ground leaving fire behind her feet, with every time her opponent dodges, the more excitement she feels. Even if Shido tries to get between the fight, he'll end up being torn apart or worse. The explosion caught Kurumi's attention and when she realized what's going on, Kurumi rushed back to a half awakened Yamato.

"Yamato-san, you have to wake up right now"

"What?...Why?"

"Well…" After a few minutes of brief explanation, Kurumi gave a small sigh even though Yamato doesn't look so happy "That's everything that happened as far as I know"

"I guess, I have to go there no matter what even if my identity is in risk"

He opened his hand and a helmet formed out from the fire and using his both hands to hold the full faced knight's helmet, he wore it with a straight expression before he disappeared right Kurumi's eyes. The cunning Spirit gave a gentle smile with an "Hmm" before he followed The Flame Spirit. Several commercial buildings were already destroyed and the fight grew restless.

"A…..u….ah"

"What's wrong little Flame Spirit, tired already" After examining the situation, he realized that The young Spirit is not exhausted but rather trying to stay conscious "I see now! You're trying to not lose control as much as you can"

"There are things…that are just beyond our control but you don't know your limitations as a human"

"Human? I stole a Spirit's source of power, from now on I'm a Spirit!"

"How…prideful"

Her body paused a moment before she resumed and charged to her opponent with a smile. Yoshino managed to overpower her opponent after they both exchanged attacks but it didn't take long for the table to be turned. The moment Yoshino stopped her movements, the spear pierced right through her in an instant and slowly fell to the ground.

"Ha….ha ha, I have taken down a Spirit!"

"Yoshino? You! How could you just kill someone like that?!"

A quiet atmosphere has passed through but an unexpected arrival of another Spirit caught their attention as Shido and the secret boss turn their heads at the building that just explode. Shido couldn't believed who just walked out with a grand entrance, if another Spirit gets in a fight they'll end up leveling the whole city.

"…!" The whole place is already partially destroyed when he arrived but what really shocked him is to see Yoshino bleeding near Shido, Yamato ended up with the wrong conclusion "Itsuka…Shido, I will kill you for what you did!"

"Ha? W-w-wait, this is a misunderstanding, I didn't do anything"

"Shut your mouth and prepare for your death!"

"I didn't do this to Yoshino, he did" Shido pointed out but there was no one there, the real culprit managed to escape before the Flame Spirit noticed "He…disappeared"

Shido begun running for his life as he begun to drag his legs from the furious Spirit. Reason won't save him this time for Yamato won't understand the situation. Yet, he tried to prove his innocence while running, the oxygen in his lungs became to run thin the longer he run. Shido only stopped when the fire got him surrounded and cornered.

"How could you… kill my child"

"I didn't kill Yoshino, I could never do that"

"Stop lying you worthless human!"

At the last moments, Shido closed his eyes and prayed for his life, a few seconds yet he felt no burning pain but rather a cold feeling in front of him. He opened his other eye first and surprised by the ice wall the blocked the flames that was about to hit him. In front of him is Yoshino who is still alive but severely injured, she ignored the injuries and focused on protecting Shido.

"Y-Yoshino, you're still alive?"

"My…..wounds is slowly….healing"

"T-that's" Yamato lowered down the level of his hostility and begun to soften when a certain Spirit stood in front of Shido and blocked his attack at the last second.

The young Spirit lost her energy and sank to the ground as she catch her breath, The Flame Spirit couldn't believe his eyes, he raised down his sword and threw a sharp glare at Shido who was surprised as he is. He was about to walk away when a bright blast of light almost hit the three of them if Yamato haven't used his Angel's shield.

"I believe you now Ituska Shido, she protected you means you're a good person"

"If only I could have done something then this wouldn't happen"

"You must go, I will handle this foolish Spirit" He stared in the sky as a man with incomplete wings floated in the sky with a spear

"Two Flame Spirits! Sorry, Executioner but you're not who I'm after"

"What?! That means-" Before he could finish his sentence, the persistent man shot him with a laser beam and knocked him crashing in a few buildings.

In mere seconds, the Spirit boss managed to catch up to Shido before he could get far but The Flame Spirit isn't going down without a fight so it wouldn't take long for him to regain consciousness. Yoshino stood in front of Shido knowing his bad condition, the Spirit boss smile as she assured that it will be his victory.

"Not falling down without a fight huh? How interesting"

"I…..won't let you hurt Shido-san"

"Stop, you're in bad condition to fight"

"I'm almost at my limit….but I won't let it stop me even if I lose control again"

Yoshino re summon her other Angel and prepared a stance, the previous fight resumed as two Angles clash to one another. The more she move her boy, Yoshino can feel the pain being inflicted.

"What's wrong, tired already?" the vicious man grew a big a smile as he laugh when the young Spirit changed into a defensive position and stopped her attacks

Yoshino grit her teeth when her knees are about to give up but was able to last long because of her determination. She then decided to counter her enemy and threw him off in a distance, Yoshino can feel herself almost out of control but she can't lose yet until Shido is safe. The Spirit boss was about to slash her when she was dropped to down to her knees but she felt heat beside her and a fist punch away her opponent.

"Are you alright? Sorry if I was late"

"Who…are you?"

"Forgive me but I can't tell you yet, not now" Yamato hugged her with his both arms as he bent his knees and Yoshino felt a familiar warm feeling like this before

"…..A…uh…..ah"

"I'm just glad that you're safe" Tears fell down from Yamato's eyes as he tightened his hug and Yoshino felt a familiar warm feeling from before

"Where…are you going?" When she looked into the man's eyes, it was no stranger's eyes. The Flame Spirit gave her a pat and smiled before he walked away.

"I wish I could tell you the truth but I just don't want to repeat the same mistake" He paused for a moment then he turned his head whole having to sorrowful eyes filled with guilt and regret "But I don't want to hurt your feelings"

An hour has passed ever since the trouble with the "Spirit Boss" and The Flame Spirit's assistance to Shido. The self proclaimed Spirit, managed to get away and Yamato disappeared without a trace again. Even though the date was interfered, Yoshino was left confused on why she felt like that man was very close to her. Both she and Shido head back to Fraxinus after the incident, Yoshino has to be checked and tested while Kotori and Shido discusses serious matters

"So, How did it go in the end?" Kotori and Shido both sat in steel chairs inside a private room

"You could say it went well and the same it's not" He laid down in his head and gave a small exhale before speaking with unfortunate face "It wouldn't be long before Yoshino remembers her father"

"We're not certain that she'll truly hate her own dad"

"The way he cares for Yoshino, I can't think of a reason for Yoshino to hate him" Shido used his hands to support his chin as he stare in the ceiling and recall Yamato's words "But he said something about not wanting to make the same mistake"

"We'll just have to ask him about this if we lucky to find him again" Kotori sighed as if she's showing her disappointment

Kurumi's living room table is full of bandages, gauzes, a medical kit and other medical supplies. In a chair, Kurumi is placing a bandage on the Flame Spirit who looked unpleased, the huge scar on his back reminded him of that tragic day.

"I suppose there's a deep story behind that scar on your back, is it the 'mistake' you made" Her tone sounded like she's teasing him as she poked the scar

"What? Do you want me to tell you everything?" Yamato held his head and recalled the pain he felt when he received that scar "I don't even want to remember it, don't bother me about that now"

That day, there wasn't just one Spirit but four of them were clearly present that time, fire hadn't spread throughout the whole neighborhood and street, yet. Yoshino was with her mother and went somewhere while Yamato is looking for a certain person but can't find her anywhere.

"Uuughhh, Why does my head keep making me remember this day" He put his white long sleeve shirt on and sat in a couch to think "I hate it, If I haven't left her alone that day"

Worried that the two hasn't come back yet, Yamato went to look for them but can't find them anywhere. After searching for quite a while, he found Yoshino crying near a person covered in a pool of blood. Enraged, his fury turned into the fire that swallowed everything.

"Ara, Yamato-san, you don't have to push yourself"

"I can't help it, that day kept haunting me for five years"

"Rest it off and you'll forget it in a short while"

He closed his eyes, put his arm to his forehead and felt that his exhaustion is surrounding him. Yamato never forget the sacrifice and mistake he has done five years ago.


End file.
